Customer Reviews
BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - By: Mr. M. Davies, 12 Oct 2007 
BUY THIS BOOK--GET RID OF EVERYTHING ELSE YOU OWN IN REGARDS TO WRITINGS ON WEIGHT TRAINING-PRACTISE WHAT THE AUTHOR PREACHES AND ENJOY!!
TO ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO ARE SPENDING YOUR LIFE IN THE GYM AND WHO PREACH ABOUT LONG AND FREQUENT TRAINING ROUTINES--ILL BUY YOU A BEER AS YOU ARE WRONG!
Droning On - By: Jason Baden, 06 Oct 2007 
My first introduction into Stuart McRoberts theories on bodybuilding came about when i bought his book "Beyond Brawn". I must say at the time i was excited to get started on the abbreviated training routines he reccomended. I wish i hadnt. It alll proved boring, monotonous & ultimately fruitless. I then returned to a routine covering 3-4 days a week either as a pull/push/legs split or a more in depth 4 day split using 4-3 sets of anywhere between 6-10 reps depending on the exercise & bodypart (12-15 reps for calves & forearms). Result?? i grew like a weed.
I think Stuart McRobert tries to peddle it on to everyone that if your not a genetic Elite or a championship bodybuilder then your a HARDGAINER pure & simple. I can tell you now its just not as simple as that. Many of the bodyuilding greats have found it notoriously hard to get to the olympia sizes they now are. But by thinking your a hardgainer & HAVE to be a genetic freak to get to these sizes you are selling yourself far short & limiting yourself.
Its true yes there are hardgainers out there but they are not the average. Hardgainers are a very very rare bunch as are total genetic freaks. The average bodybuilder is not a hardgainer, merely NOT as well gifted as some others. The majority of the time people use the hardgainer lable as an excuse for their current workouts not producing the growth the want. Maybe they should pay more attention to their diets are they reallly eating 8-9 smalll meals a day?? are they working in a physicallly demanding job thus meaning they should up their calorific intake alot more anyways?? are they lifting properly? Until someone has tried alll the variables, ate right, trained right no a number of programmes then they cant reallly label themselves as hardgainers.
In my opinion, as a pro bodybuilder, Stuart McRoberts book should appeal for the very very VERY smalll amount of people out there who ARE hardgainers as like i said, the average guy out there is NOT a hardgainer.
Very good - By: Jack Hobartson, 04 Aug 2007 This is a very detailed book that does justice to the huge subject it covers. It goes deeply into the genetics of weightlifting, emphasising the importance this aspect plays in most people's training regimes.
It also contains a huge chapter (c.200 pages) explaining in detail just about every exercise you will ever want to do - that alone justifies the price.
The one part of the book that could be improved is the way the actual "Program" is presented (which by the way doesn't start until p.441!). This book has so much information that when you finallly get there, you find you have to cross-reference with other sections of the book. I don't just mean the actual exercises, which are obviously in that 200 page chapter but preparatory exercises as well.
Still worth a 5 despite the above comments.
A good compendium on weight training and general fitness - By: Torben Breindahl, 04 Jul 2006 
I highly recommend this book for beginners & experienced athletes, who want a refreshing view on modern training techniques. It is a very detailed book filled with good advice presented by the author in a very personal way. It is the first book I have read on this subject that contains in-depth information & guidelines on safety, risk factors, training moral & ethics, mental attitudes etc. I also enjoyed the chapter on "How too handle weights between exercises", a topic which is seldom mentioned in other books. The author has strong opinions on drug abuse in connection with body-building as well as the classical "myths" & general misinformation, which is widespread & accepted in many training environments.
The cover page & title of the book gave me a negative impression to start with (for me it sends the wrong signals). However, after reading it my opinion totallly changed. The sound advice in this book made me change several exercise routines & quit using some machines, which I now consider to present a risk.
Build muscle>lose fat>look great... Its great - By: Pete. S. (UK), 01 Jun 2006 I must disclose my position prior to my review as I believe it has a stong influence on verdict. I am what many consider to be a 'hard gainer' , ie. I have great difficulty in putting on weight & muscle. I have only read one of stuart previous books - Insider's Tell-All Handbook on Weight-training Technique. I have been extremely disillusioned with nearly alll the bodybuilding guides written by various authors as the methods & techniques given don't seem to apply to me & presume a natural bodybuilding ability & a huge time commitment. 'Build muscle, lose fat & look great' is a complete & comprehensive guide for anyone like me, & communicates in very plain english exactly how to get to where you want to be physicallly. It contains a huge amout of detailed information. The routine, described as 'The Program' is very realistic in terms of time commitment & therefore achievable. So in conlusion, I highly recommend it.
